The Norman Conquests

The Norman Conquests is the collective name for three ingenious plays by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn (b. 1939). Entitled Table Manners, Living Together and Round and Round the Garden, they feature the same six characters over a single weekend in three different parts of a house - the dining room, the living room and the garden respectively. The trilogy was first produced at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where Ayckbourn was artistic director, prior to a successful season in London.

Stage productions in South Africa

In South Africa the plays were first produced by the Baxter Theatre Company in 1979, directed by British actor/director Brian Rawlinson. The cast consisted of Bill Flynn (Norman), Eckard Rabe (Tom). Sandra Duncan (Sarah), Dorothy-Ann Gould (Annie), John Lesley (Reg) and Jana Cilliers (Ruth). The design was by Peter Krummeck and the lighting by Winston Cowie. The same cast took it to His Majesty's Theatre in Johannesburg later that year.

Produced by Brickhill-Burke production of Alan Aykbourn's trilogy, The Norman Conquests, separately titled Table Manners, Living Together and Round and Round the Garden, at His Majesty’s Theatre in 1979 with Jana Cilliers, Sandra Duncan, Dorothy-Ann Gould, John Lesley, Eckard Rabe and Bill Flynn under direction of Brian Rawlinson.

Sources

Programme notes for The Norman Conquests, Baxter Theatre Company 1979.

Barrow, Brian & Williams-Short, Yvonne (eds.). 1988. Theatre Alive! The Baxter Story 1977-1987).

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